Warmup

• Take a guess: how many Chinese characters there are in the modern-day language?

• 50,000!

• Altogether there are over 50,000 characters, though a comprehensive modern dictionary will rarely list over 20,000 in use. An educated Chinese person will know about 8,000 characters, but you will only need about 2-3,000 to be able to read a newspaper.

Geography of China

• The Huang He River is more than 2900 miles long.• It flows across Central China and empties

into Yellow Sea

• 12 percent of the total land is suitable for farming.

• Much of China is mountainous and contains deserts.

• The mountains and desert acted as barriers, separating the Chinese from the rest of the Asia

• China is isolated because of natural barriers

Huang He River• Referred to as “China’s

Sorrows” because floods, caused by the loess-clogged river, destroyed crops and led to mass starvation

• Provided a source of water for cities

• Linked cities within dynastic region

• Flooding in China deposited rich soil for farming

Ancient China

• Dynasty – A series of rulers from a single family.

Origins of Chinese Culture

• Family and Society

• Chief loyalty throughout life was to the family, then to the King, then to the country.

Origins of Chinese Culture

• Religious Beliefs• Ancestral Worship –

to show respect and honor of the family

• They believed their ancestors had the power to bring good/bad fortune to living family members

• Oracle Bones – used to communicate with the gods

Origins of Chinese Culture

• Calligraphy• Each character represents

one idea rather than a letter.

• Literate – 1,000 characters

• Educated – 10,000 characters

• Difficult to learn because so many characters

Art as a Societal Reflection• During the Shang and

Zhou dynasties, bronze statues, textiles, and lacquerware were highly regulated by the royal court

• The court could choose to allow you to work on your artwork

• Or not!

Bronze statue

Lacquer bowlSilk clothing

Art as a Societal Reflection• During the Han dynasty, a

landowning and merchant class appeared and grew

• Those people started having “leisure time” to paint, draw, create poetry & learn calligraphy

• Professional artists versus common people became a class distinction

Calligraphy

Paintings

Art as a Social Reflection• Religion, especially

Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism, became very influential in artwork

• Buddhist artwork showed a lot of peace, nature, and of course Buddha

• Daoism was very influenced by the natural flow of life

• Confucianism stressed filial piety in its artwork

Buddha

Landscape

Loyalty to the emperor

Chinese Government• Mandate of

Heaven

• In China, it is divine approval thought to be the basis of royal authority.

• God-given right to rule

Chinese Government• Dynastic Cycle

• The historical pattern of the rise, decline and replacement of ruling dynasties.

• Dynastic Cycle=Mandate of Heaven

• Example: Zhou dynasty overthrew the Shang Dynasty claiming that the gods had given them the Mandate of Heaven

GREAT WALL OF CHINA

• Shi Huangdi forced poor people to build it

• Built for protection from barbarians (Mongolian ancestors of Genghis Khan)

• Great Wall of China

Zhou Dynasty• Kings ruled China

from 1027 BC to 256 BC

• Did not follow Chinese values of social order, harmony, and respect for authority

Confucius 551-479 BC

• China’s most influential scholar

• Wanted to restore China’s ancient values of conformity and respect

• Confucianism became the foundation for the Chinese government and social order

• Bureaucracy – civil service exam to see who can get governments jobs

• Education became very important in order to get better jobs

• The teachings of Confucius had a philosophical impact on China giving the Scholars a higher social status

Confucius• Believed social order, harmony, and good government

could be restored in China if society was organized around five basic relationships.

1. Ruler and Subject

2. Father and Son

-Filial Piety – respect for parents/elders

3. Husband and Wife

4. Older Brother and Younger Brother

5. Friend and Friend

Yin and Yang

• Two powers that represented the natural rhythms of life

• Yin = feminine

• Yang = masculine

• Both complement/complete each other

Qin Dynasty• Replaced Zhou Dynasty

• Conquered the other Chinese states through complete annihilation

• War used to be “a gentleman’s affair”

• Shi Huangdi – First Chinese Emperor

• Began rule at age 13

• Employed Legalist ideas

Qin Dynasty

• Highly efficient and powerful government that crushed opponents

• Burned books by Confucius and other people who disagreed with the Emperor

• Established an autocracy

Autocracy• A government in which the

ruler has unlimited power

• Dictatorship/monarchy

• Totalitarianism

How does the cartoon represent an autocracy?

Qin Dynasty• Set uniform standards for writing, law, currency, and

measures

• Forced peasants to build over 4,000 miles worth of roads

• Irrigation systems helped improve farm production

• Used forced labor to build the Great Wall of China to prevent invaders (Mongol descendants of Genghis Khan) from entering China

Great Wall of China• Built by peasants who were forced to work or face death

• Around 1 million died

• 1,400 miles long and 20-25 ft. high

• CANNOT SEE THIS FROM SPACE WITH THE NAKEDEYE!

Censorship Debate

• Each group will read an online article https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/chinas-scary-lesson-to-the-world-censoring-the-internet-works/2016/05/23/413afe78-fff3-11e5-8bb1-f124a43f84dc_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.8c15d01c137e

• At your tables, please answer the following questions:

• 1) What are the positive aspects of Chinese censorship? What are some negative aspects?

• 2) Would extreme Internet censorship work here in the USA?

• 3) What are some ways that you know of that the school/state/federal government/new outlets/etc. censor you?

• 4) What are your thoughts on censorship in general? Does everyone have the right to free speech?